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Nature Sao Tome and Principe
~~~The Guide - Guardian and the Prodigal~~~
Aug 23, 2010 05:38 PM 23606 Views
(Updated Aug 23, 2010 07:59 PM)

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With one book called 'Malgudy Days', RK Narayan became my favorite Indian English writer. (This includes the modern day writers.) When I got the opportunity to read his novel, 'The Guide' I am more than eager for two reasons. The first I want to see how a novel looks like from a person who write so crisp and so direct. Secondly, the novel got him the Sahitya Academy award in 1958. With great expectations, I got the book in my hand and I didn't regret buying it now.


RK Narayan is one impatient person. He doesn't like to sit idle and so is his narration. He doesn't have to wait for a beginning and it will not take long to make a conversation and get connected. Raju just came out from prison after a sentence. He meets with a barber who keeps a close observation on things and manages to come to correct conclusions. Raju possessed this quality as well. He was a prodigy at school and home. After his father's death he was in charge of the shop in Railway station at Malgudy. As a side business he starts guiding tourists and soon changed it as his main profession. He is now known as Railway Raju. An unhappy tourist couple arrives, Marco & Rosie. Raju gets attracted to Rosie and the entire episode turned to be a nightmare for Raju. Then, he was not that bad at heart and some fruits started producing. He lacked character that brought shocks that makes him unsettled. In the present, people believe him as Swamy. It is now his responsibility to bring rain to end the drought. Will he manage to live the expectation of the people? How his and Rosie's relation grows and how it broke up? There are a lot of story inside to swim deep.


Like most of the classics, this novel too is a multi layered one. The first one, the simple and straight forward one which have earthy and seen around characters and situations. The story connects to the reader in an intimate way where we will feel for the 'ignorant' Raju. In this layer however, one may find many missing links, including in the climax. They may wonder the way the author abandoned Rosie and Marco. They get angry at Raju for abandoning his mother. Then, the emotions are rightly created by the author to direct it to another truth which is the main intend of the novel. Readers who get this connection will find the reading interesting and they will not get confused in the climax. Here the author takes the readers to reflect on the past facing the realities while expressing his worries of future. You can find Oppression, ignorance, invasion, British Rule, Missionaries, Fasting, Mahatma Gandhi, Indian Independence struggle and the freedom which faces threat. The novel reaches a greater level with this second layer. This is a kind of book which gives the reader creative satisfaction, like solving a puzzle.


You can find the rich but ignorant Indian soul in Raju who was good in heart but lacks a character. The Marco-Rossy relations show the cultural mix of the Indian heritage and how it lost its freedom and spirit by mixing with establishment. The hard rulers who do not understand value of culture and heritage come back to it when presented in limelight. The book also targets Gandhiji, his fasting and struggles for independence and how accidental was the independence and he got the fame for it. The author warns threats the nation faces from outside forces by reminding the presence of Marco. With time, characters play different roles. If Raju is represented ignorant Indian soul, he also represents the 'Raj' at another point and the role of Mahatma at later stage. One may wonder how it all connects but that is the skill makes the book and the author different. (I read 'The old man and the sea' the other day and learned the same style in that too.)


Now, there are more bonus from the book where the artist creatively uses the fun to criticise the hypocrisy existed in the society and how each section do their role to make the nation remain ignorant. You can find a father who preaches about health but do not care his health. You can find a mother who treats the woman guest at home nicely only to say later how she disliked her all those days. The protagonist is full of contradictions. RKN direct some arrows to the hypocrisy exist in the personal relations and thoughts. Later he aims the society and its executives. You can see the jail people treating Raju differently from other prisoners. You meet with an advocate who charges thousands per hour and manipulate the law and the system. The media who gives the wrong news and how they make publicity for the most un wanted; The public utilities and infrastructure, how it all are directed at wrong causes and lot more...the satire when is out from RK Narayan it is a joy to read it and reflect.


While I read the first part of the novel, I thought I liked RK Narayan, the short story writer. Then, once I get the clues to the depth of the proceedings, I liked the novelist better! The impatience in the writer is visible in many parts; true. Then, it doesn't fail him to tell the story and give out the messages loud and clear.


RK Narayan's writing is been compared to the writings of Chekhov, William Faulkner and Nikolai Gogol. I am yet to read any of them. When it comes to simplicity I can compare him to Vaikkam Mohammed Basheer but on the serious track, RK Narayan competes with Anatole France, Hemingway and the likes. While he comes out successful in drawing parallels without fault his merit is its simplicity with which he opened a master route to the masses.


I learned that there is a Hindi film released based on this novel. However, I noticed some beautiful influence of certain characters and situations to Malayalam films by Priyadarsan. One is in Kilukkam where the Raju, Joseph & Rosy are reborn beautifully in a different environment and different story. The other one is a story written by him but directed by Alleppy Asharaf, with name 'Ninnishtam Ennishtam'. Here too it is not an adoptation of the story but the influence, limited to certain characters and situations with such a mastery which I had seen only in Padmarajan who has his influence from Dostoevsky.


Long Live 'The Guide' where the threat is more evident today than 50 years back where the son in law of Marco is all set to destroy Rosy, Raju and the Malgudi out of its financials, security and peace.


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